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Would it be possible to set up a desktop computer on an EC2 instance for a Linux computer? Say Ubuntu?

I know you can do this with Windows, you just terminal server into the server and use it like a desktop computer.

But can you do this with a Linux OS like Ubuntu and use the GUI interfaces like remoting into a Windows server?

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2 Answers

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Unix was doing remote applications before Windows ever existed.

It's called "Xwindows" aka "X11"

Why in the world would you want to do this though?

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lol, just in case my laptop fails when i am travelling, and i can still code if need be using someone elses computer. – user2659 Jan 1 '10 at 2:35
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In that case, there are other VPS providers that 1) are cheaper and 2) offer better performance than EC2. See this recent comparison: journal.uggedal.com/vps-performance-comparison For one-off VPSes, I'd highly recommend Linode - I've been with them for 5 years and have never been let down by their performance, service, or support. – EEAA Jan 1 '10 at 2:55
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You are allowed to set up instances on EC2 with any OS you like that runs on the x86 architecture, including Ubuntu Desktop. A good remote desktop solution for Ubuntu is FreeNX. A good guide to setting up FreeNX on Ubuntu is here.

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